Ōtsutsuki Reishiki, standing atop the Ten-Tails' head, muttered to himself about life before suddenly controlling the beast to lash out a tail, launching a surprise attack at Kaito. Sneak attacks—he clearly had mastered the art of playing dirty.
Fortunately, Kaito had been on guard the whole time. Controlling his Susanoo, he raised its blade to block the strike to the head, then stretched out his hand toward the Ten-Tails and unleashed Almighty Push.
The Ten-Tails, with its kilometer-tall body, was blown back like a balloon under the force of Almighty Push. But in controlling repulsion, Ōtsutsuki Reishiki was no weaker—he too released a burst of repulsion, neutralizing Almighty Push and stabilizing the Ten-Tails.
Kaito gave him no chance to breathe. Susanoo swung its blade, unleashing a massive slash. If it had been Imu controlling the Ten-Tails, he could only have taken the strike head-on and then waited for the beast to regenerate.
But Ōtsutsuki Reishiki clearly wasn't going to use such a crude method. A mocking smile spread across his face as he raised a hand. A transparent barrier appeared in front of the Ten-Tails.
...
Meanwhile, in Loguetown, a bloody gang war was breaking out.
At the forefront stood a man with spiky grass-green hair like a rooster's comb and an arrogant expression.
Facing him was a bald, burly man with a fierce look, who shouted furiously,
"Bartolomeo! Haven't you gotten a little too cocky lately!? Need me to teach you a lesson!?"
Bartolomeo impatiently dug a finger in his ear, then did something that made everyone present gape.
He actually pulled down his pants in front of everyone and started pissing right there.
This shameless "weapon-flashing" move instantly drove the bald man into a frenzy. He wanted nothing more than to snatch Bartolomeo's "weapon" right off.
Roaring at his underlings, he bellowed,
"Shoot this bastard dead!!!"
His men, who had long despised Bartolomeo, immediately pulled out their guns and opened fire.
Bartolomeo's own followers, however, didn't so much as flinch. They weren't worried in the least about their boss standing exposed at the front, facing the hail of bullets.
Bartolomeo simply raised both hands, crossing his middle and index fingers into a strange pose. A transparent barrier appeared before him, blocking every bullet.
He was a Paramecia-type Barrier-Barrier Fruit user—capable of creating barriers to block all attacks. To date, no one had ever managed to break his barriers.
But instead of discouraging the bald boss, this only fueled his rage.
With a roar, he pulled out a dagger and charged at Bartolomeo. Bartolomeo looked at him like a clown, twitched his fingers, and sent the barrier crashing forward.
This was one of the attack methods he'd developed with his fruit power. He thought for sure the bald man would be smashed to pieces but midway, the transparent barrier suddenly vanished.
Bartolomeo's smug expression froze. He stuck out his tongue and shouted in disbelief,
"Nani!?"
The bald man didn't care why the barrier vanished. Taking advantage of Bartolomeo's shock, he lunged forward and thrust his blade.
Fortunately, Bartolomeo's men reacted quickly.
"Boss! Watch out!!!"
Bartolomeo snapped back to his senses and instinctively twisted his body, avoiding a fatal wound. Still, the blade pierced into his side, drawing blood.
Clutching his bleeding waist, Bartolomeo lashed out with a fierce kick, sending the bald man flying. The bald man's crew froze in shock.
Bartolomeo wasn't weak in hand-to-hand combat. He'd just wanted to show off using his fruit powers—but he'd ended up stumbling instead.
He tried again to summon his barrier with a pose. Nothing happened.
For the first time since eating his Devil Fruit, his power had failed him.
Annoyed, he waved for his men to retreat. He couldn't care less about the bald man's underlings anymore.
On the way back, Bartolomeo kept striking pose after pose, refusing to give up.
One of his followers finally couldn't hold back and asked,
"Boss… is there something wrong with your body?"
"Shut it! My body's perfectly fine—how could anything be wrong with me!?"
"Then… maybe you just didn't sleep well last night?"
"..."
Bartolomeo gave him a long, silent stare. The underling realized how stupid his question was and slunk away in shame.
Bartolomeo pulled out a photo from his chest. It was of Kaito, taken when Kaito had been promoted to Admiral.
Staring at the photo with teary eyes, Bartolomeo cried out,
"Kaito-senpai! Please, tell me what's going on!!!"
Then he struck another pose, gazing up at the sky.
"Boss! Your power's back!" his men shouted in surprise.
Slowly opening his eyes, Bartolomeo saw the familiar transparent barrier shimmering before him.
Thud!
He dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead against the ground, wailing,
"Kaito-senpai!!!"
...
Back on the Red Line,
Kaito frowned as he saw his strike dissipate against the transparent barrier.
"This is the Barrier-Barrier Fruit's ability?"
Ōtsutsuki Reishiki chuckled.
"That's right. The Ten-Tails is the source of all Devil Fruits. By controlling it, I can wield every Devil Fruit ability. I must admit—some of them are really quite useful."
"Oh? And so what?"
Susanoo sheathed its blade, drew back its arm, and took a stance. A white glow enveloped its massive fist.
Rather than panic, Ōtsutsuki Reishiki crossed his arms and smirked.
"That's Whitebeard's ability, isn't it? To think you can use it this way. Not bad, not bad!"
The transparent barrier still stood before the Ten-Tails, leaving Reishiki at ease. He knew just how absolute its defense was—a conceptual-level shield, capable of blocking any tangible attack.
But Kaito's lips curved into a mysterious smile. His Rinnegan flared with violet light and a door suddenly opened in the middle of the transparent barrier.
Reishiki's smirk froze.
"Nani? This is—"
BOOM!
Susanoo's colossal fist smashed into the air, splitting it into jagged blue cracks that stretched for miles.
A cataclysmic shockwave erupted, passing through the "door" in the barrier and crashing into the Ten-Tails and Reishiki atop its head.
Space twisted violently, shattering into countless fragments.